Our final Halloween arrangement, like the Banjo-Kazooie entry, is another piece that is not from a horror game, but rather from a set of pieces that play in a game’s more unsettling environments. For this last Halloween Arrangement of the Week, we are looking at a spooky arrangement of the “Ghost House” and “Castle” tracks from Super Mario World.

This arrangement comes to us from artist CrimsonZeal and is an orchestral reimagining titled “Ghosts of the Marble Hall.”

The piece starts off with the an erie rendition of the “Ghost House” theme. The combination of woodwind arpeggios along with the percussion and strings evokes an appropriate atmosphere for the music’s original setting. The arrangement takes on a more cinematic battle tone once the “Castle” theme kicks in. The main melody is actually present in both source pieces, but the arrangement takes more cues from the “Castle” track, particularly with the strings at 1’25”.

What I particularly enjoyed from this arrangement is the way the “Ghost House” material builds up into the “Castle” music. It’s a great transition that maintains the sense of dread that often accompanied playing through the game’s original levels. Another nice touch is the sudden drop off of the music at 2’30” to a coda featuring the strings. It gives the piece a more somber ending, that I really wasn’t expecting. Overall, a great orchestral arrangement.

Have any favorite orchestral arrangements of your favorite game tunes? Let us know about them in the comments below. You can find and download “Ghosts of the Marble Hall” on OC Remix.

Last night I received a signed copy of the Battletech soundtrack from composer @JonEverist. It is an absolutely stunning release by @blackscreenrec! If you missed my review for the OST you can read it here @OSVgamemusic https://t.co/qSJyXOuFyo